Beaufort’s Strong Family Connection

January 5, 2017

Beaufort Interiors is an interior design business based in Moira, just outside Belfast in Northern Ireland. They specialise in soft-furnishing manufacture and retail of designer brand interiors. As a family run business, Beaufort ‘s staff know each other and their clients well.

Beaufort Interiors was established in October 1982, and was incorporated as a limited company two years later. Ruth Wilson started the business in an upstairs room of her own home, and since then have continued their growth and expansion to become the company they are today.

The iconic building in Moira was purchased in 1989. Having relocated several times, the focus of the firm has always been on the talented craftspeople and technical staff which they employ to produce high-quality bespoke window dressings and soft furnishings. Between 2002 and 2012, Beaufort displayed their contemporary designs in a Belfast showroom before consolidating in the Moira headquarters and extending the property, to include both classic and contemporary styles.

In addition to their manufacturing and retail services, Beaufort also has three showroom displays in a historic Georgian setting, which displays design from period-specific through to cutting edge contemporary. The showroom displays are all in room-settings, and are open to the public six days a week. Clients are welcome to browse, chat with an interior designer about a project or make a purchase directly from display.

Beaufort has always maintained a strong family connection. Ruth’s son, Trevor Wilson, also helps to run the business. In this interview, he gives us an insight into what clients can expect from their high quality service.

“We operate a consultative approach, and emphasise the importance of developing the relationships between our clients and our staff, which has resulted in the majority of our work coming through recommendations. Our mission is to create interior environments for our clients that best suit their needs and taste. We achieve this through developing a thorough understanding of our clients and taking them through our proposals.”

Like in any modern business, technology plays an important role in the development and production of products and services. Beaufort integrate technology effectively into their work as Trevor explains.“We use CAD extensively which is updated regularly, and technological advances in our manufacturing machinery is constant. Incorporating technology into our designs is also becoming a bigger part of our service, including electronically operated curtains and integrated smart-home entertainment.”

In a competitive industry, it is vital that a firm as dedicated as Beaufort are aware of any developments in the industry to stay ahead of their competitors and to ensure any legislation and regulation in the industry is kept to a minimal level.

“We keep ahead of the competition through regular attendance at industry trade shows, and frequently introducing new brands and products,” says Trevor. “The legislation surrounding child safety in the manufacture and installation of corded curtains and blinds is a big issue in the industry right now. The introduction of remote operated motors on window dressings effectively removes this issue for us.”

As well as being renowned designers, Beaufort manufacture cushions for well-known design brands recognised all over the world, and the production team have manufactured and installed soft-furnishings for a number of prestigious commercial projects, some of which can be viewed on the portfolio page.Beaufort prides itself on the fact that their staff know each other well due to people in the business being closely associated with each other. Trevor outlines how staff are managed throughout the business.

“As a small family run business, our staff all know each other very well, and many of our staff have been with us for more than a decade. Management have an open-door policy, and in addition, we hold annual appraisals to discuss any training and resource needs. We receive applications almost constantly for new staff, but we have also enlisted the services of recruitment agencies on occasion to help with this process.”

Due to the current nature of the economic climate, Trevor and the rest of the team at Beaufort Interiors are wary of any future changes in the currency as we enter 2017. “Currency fluctuations are in many people’s thoughts at the moment, and the GBP/Euro exchange is particularly salient to our firm given that we purchase materials in both currencies and sell in both currencies.”Despite these concerns, Beaufort have recently begun a new venture based in London, so they can look to expand their business in the city, particularly in the B2B sector.”